2020 Witcher fic roundup
so, uh, it turns out I wrote a lot this year. I’m feeling sentimental so I’ve added my personal comments in italics.
The Rumours Series. Geralt/Jaskier/Yennefer. M. 104k+ (WIP) approx ~120k when finished. fairly plotty ot3, set after season 1. 1) Tossing More Than A Coin. Jaskier POV. 6k. Jan 2020. My first Witcher fic! This was just fun nonsense and was 100% not meant to grow into a novel-length series. Ooops? 2) Indulging Desires. Geralt POV. 14k. Jan 2020. I remember writing that whole vampire plot and realising a) I love writing Geralt on a contract, and b) shit, now I’ve got to actually do something with this plot thread. (luckily it turned out to be a very useful plot device indeed) 3) Love, Destiny, and Other Such Bullshit. Yennefer POV. 25k. Feb 2020. So many people have been converted to Yennefer fans after reading this fic and that makes me so proud! 4) These Gifts He Give Me. Jaskier POV. 44k. Feb - Mar 2020. this is somehow an entire Geralt/Jaskier fic in itself but I have no regrets. 5) A Little Sentimentality. Yennefer POV. 16k. Aug - Nov 2020. I’m so glad I wrote the coming together from Yen’s POV. Not one of these idiots possess an ounce of emotional intelligence. 6) Home. Geralt POV. ~10k. Dec 2020 / Jan 2021. It’s so rewarding to finally be writing the ending that I’ve had in my head from the very beginning. I’m so thankful to everyone that stuck along for the ride. I promise you this final story very soon indeed!
give to you my silence. Geralt/Jaskier. G. 5k. a standard post-breakup fix-it fic. canon divergence wherein Jaskier realises Geralt needs his silence. Feb 2020. I just love how soft this one is. the handholding! the forehead touching!! I don’t think I’ve ever written a more tender version of Geralt.
500 Crowns. Jaskier & Ciri. Geralt/Jaskier. M. 9k. Every year, Jaskier finds himself singing at Cintra’s court, watching Geralt’s abandoned Child Surprise grow up. Feb 2020. I love how this has become a popular trope??? I don’t know if I was the first one to write Jaskier checking on Ciri at Cintra but it’s my most kudos’d fic of the year and shortly afterwards I felt like I saw this idea everywhere! I just love that I might have been a part of that.
Julian. Geralt/Jaskier. E. 22k. Modern AU - Ballet. Jaskier was a child prodigy who burned out before he was sixteen. Now he's going from job to job with no aim in life until he meets Geralt Rivia - the famously strong ballet dancer who has also fallen from grace after an accident that he still blames himself for. Feb 2020. This was pure indulgence for me, but you guys made it so much more. I’m touched by all the comments I’ve received from those who were also child prodigies and are now struggling to get by, and those who have experienced the harshness of the creative sector first-hand and are still recovering, or those who frequently experience panic attacks or struggle with PTSD, to whom this fic meant something special to them. I’m so glad I wrote it.
Lavender. Geralt/Jaskier. E. 84k. A love story in 30 (sex) acts. Apr - May 2020. I don’t have the words to express how much this fic means to me. Every time I felt despondent and depressed about this year I would tell myself “at least I wrote Lavender” because it honestly the proudest I have ever been of my writing. I know it’s a little self-indulgent. Okay, a LOT self-indulgent. But I LOVE it. I wrote the entire thing in a month and it was mad and wonderful and while my beta and I were working on it, I think we both felt it was something special, but it wasn’t until it was out there and you all thought that it was special too that I believed it. 2020 may have been a dumpster fire, but look, we have Lavender, and if someone as fucked up as Geralt can find a happy ending, then so can we, dammit!
Return to Oxenfurt. Geralt/Jaskier. E. 90k+ (WIP) approx ~130k when finished. also set in the same verse - Gwent Addict (Gen, T, 3k). Trans Jaskier at canon-era Oxenfurt Academy. A fluffy fic, featuring soft! understanding! Geralt and genderswapped Valdo Marx. May 2020 (- approx May 2021). I was so nervous about writing this fic but so, so, glad I did. I know a lot of you see yourselves reflected in Jaskier’s story, and although it’s a lot of responsibility to bear, it’s taught me a lot about editing and sensitivity reading and how to embrace responsibility without fear. this fic helped me get through this terrible year and I know a lot of you feel the same. it’s been keeping me sane, and I can’t thank the readers enough for coming on this journey with me.
The Butcher. Gen. M. 3k. Renfri's ghost haunts Geralt as he attempts to pay the penance for Blaviken. July 2020. I have so many feelings about Blaviken that this angsty ficlet was inevitable. This one flew mostly under the radar but Gen fics generally do so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Daylight. Geralt/Jaskier. M. 4k. established secret relationship due to canon-typical homophobia. Oct 2020. ngl getting a prompt like this was a dream come true for me. I will write romantic angsty goodness until my heart breaks... which it definitely did while writing this.
Thinking of Blue Always. Geralt/Jaskier. T. 5k. Modern AU - Formula 1. Geralt is in a car accident and the Polish reporter, Jaskier, is apparently not as neutral as he seems. Dec 2020. I honestly thought Julian would be my only Modern AU this year but then this idea just grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I’ve started writing a sequel for this but we’ll see what happens in the New Year.
so, uh, all in all this year, I’ve published 331k words for the Witcher, including three novel-length stories (Lavender, Rumours & Oxenfurt). my other writing has obviously lagged during this time (I only published 23k combined for Star Trek: Discovery, Skyjacks, and X-Files this year and barely wrote any original work at all) but writing this much with a singular focus has really boosted my self-confidence and I’ve loved writing for this fandom so, so, much. I don’t want to get too sentimental here but writing copious amounts of self-indulgent fic (and reading just as much in return) has made 2020 bearable and I don’t know where I’d be without this lovely fandom and you lovely people.
*clears throat* ANYWAY my asks are open if anyone wants to indulge me further. happy new year!!! <3